WWDC 2011: The iOS 5 - An OS that was Great is Now Better

At the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, eager people were anticipating what the next mobile operating system of Apple would be like. Rumours had started about iOS 5 way back in January with them ranging from over-the-air computing to even deeply embedded social networking features. Apple has taken things to an all new level by responding to their critics. The new iOS 5 Includes Notification Center, iMessage, Newsstand, Twitter Integration among 200 new features. Read on to see what Apple has released in their latest operating system.

An advanced notification system headed to the iOS

Notifications CenterOne of the annoyances while playing games or watching a movie is the notification alerts flashing across the screen. In iOS 5, the Notification Center aggregates all the notifications. When they arrive, notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen without interrupting what you’re doing. With one swipe, you can see all your notifications, and a simple tap will take you right to its app for more detail.

NewsstandThis new feature of iOS allows one to easily organize a bookshelf displaying the covers of magazines and newspapers one has subscribed to in a single place. Apple has incorporated a new section in the App Store just for subscription titles. This new feature allows users to quickly find newspapers and magazines around the world. The new Newsstand also has a nifty feature where new issues can be automatically updated in the background where one can have the latest issues along with their cover art.

Get your daily newspaper on your iOS device

TwitterThe new version of the iOS has a deep rooted Twitter integration, so one can sign in once and then tweet directly from all your Twitter-enabled apps, including Photos, Camera, Safari, YouTube and Maps with a single tap. One can also use Twitter to automatically update contacts if they have Twitter handles.

SafariWhile using your Apple mobile devices, have you ever wanted to send content from the page instead of just emailing the link? iOS 5 has resolved this issue as well with the new features for Safari. New features include Safari Reader, Reading List, and Tabbed Browsing, which makes it easy to flip between multiple web pages on iPad.

Apple's iMessage - BBM has competition

iMessageIs this the Apple’s version of the overrated BBM? Well, maybe it is. Apple has introduced iMessage which is a cross platform messaging service across Apple devices. Built right into the Messages app, iMessage allows you to send text messages, photos, videos or contact information to a person or a group on other iOS 5 devices over Wi-Fi or 3G. iMessages are automatically pushed to all your iOS 5 devices. iMessage also features delivery and read receipts, typing indication and secure end-to-end encryption.

Reminders AppThis is an interesting app for those of us who have multiple things to do and have a hard time keeping track of them. Other phone manufacturers have had it in the past and Apple has done one better again with their Reminders app. The new Reminders app helps you manage your tasks; create and group related tasks together; and set time or location-based reminder alerts, priorities and due dates, so you can be reminded of a task as its deadline approaches, or when you arrive or depart from a given location. Reminders can also be viewed in iCal and Outlook, and are updated automatically.

Camera and Photos appsApple has had a lot of limitations where the features of their cameras go. Though they have one of the best cameras in the smartphone market, it was always like something has been missing. With the new iOS 5 you can now get instant access to the camera right from the lock screen, and you can use the volume-up button to quickly snap a photo. In addition to this editing of images is also possible: you can crop, resize, and organize the pictures in the album itself.

No need to be connected to a PC for updates

PC-Free featureOne of the complaints that users had with iOS devices was that they had to be paired with a computer to be able to do simple tasks such as updating a firmware or even starting the device up for the first time. Rumours stated that the new update would in fact get rid of this hurdle by enabling over-the-air updates for iOS devices. Those rumours are true. Starting iOS 5, you no longer need a PC to do this.

Game CenterPersonalization is the way to go for the new updates in the Game Center. Now one can add a profile picture. While this is not a major improvement, Apple has touched upon other features in the Game Center like the ability to add friends easily as well as purchase games from the app itself.

Mail EnhancementsThere have been additions done to the Mail feature on the iOS. Rich formatting of text is now possible on the new update. Users can now move recipients between To and CC by simply dragging their names around. Support for S/MME means that Exchange users will be happy. Searching of keywords for mails that are still on the server will also be present.

Proper tabbed browsing coming to the iOS

Air-Play MirroringPrior to this version the only way to mirror videos was with a separate HDMI adaptor, This had to be bought separately and did not come bundled up with the device. Apple has worked on this feature and has allowed the ability to wirelessly connect to an Apple TV to mirror the data on an HDTV. Thus cutting out the need for cables.

Split keyboardThere has been work done on the keyboard that’s bundled with iOS devices. Unlike other platforms, where users can choose to install a custom keyboard app, iOS users have had to rely on it. Apple has decided to make a drastic change to the design by splitting the keyboard into two. The split keyboard will allow users to use their thumbs more effectively without having to stress their fingers too much. This should be particularly useful for iPad users.

These come as some major updates for iOS users as the interface has been virtually the same over the past four years. With Twitter integration, iMessage and over 200 features that have still to be revealed, this is surely an update most Apple users will be certainly looking forward to.